The Priestess
by Jaesma
Summary: Kagome returns to the feudal era after a year, pursuing the Shikon jewel on her own following a series of incidents between her and Inuyasha that left her scarred, both physically and mentally.


Kagome reached for the last jarred vine of the well, and pulled herself up and out of the ancient well, throwing her bow and arrows over the side. Perched on the side of the well, she let out a satisfied sigh, and gazed around herself; the well, as it always had been, was surrounded by breathtaking blossom trees, the flowers of which were floating past her, some staying long enough to dance and flirt around her. She breathed in the fresh air of the feudal era; it was a delight compared to the polluted air of the future. Oh, how she had missed it all.

Reaching into her blossom kimono, Kagome lifted the single Shikon shard that hung around her neck, alongside a heart-shaped necklace, and stared at it. The faint, pink flow of the shard, along with the flowing flowers, complimented her kimono. Feeling the thin shard scrape against her skin, a light shudder ran through Kagome. She could feel, sense, envision the other shards; a sensation that felt as real as the one that hung around her neck.

It had taken her everything she had to return here, and she was determined to finish her duty as quickly and undetected as possible. Clutching her last shard in her palm, she stuffed it back inside her kimono.

It had been almost a year since she had been here. Although young, Kagome, both physically and mentally, was beyond her years; battling demons and trying to save an era does that to a teenager.

During her time away, Kagome had, in addition to her school studies, taken up the hard-earned, sought-for, and well-deserved study of priesthood, of which her family turned out, alongside her traditional priesthood studies, to be the best teachers; she held herself with the posture and confidence her grandfather had instilled in her, executed herself by the manners and ideologies her mother had inspired in her, and loved and empathized others as her brother had taught her.

The wing caught and played with her hair, which she had let grow to reach the middle of her back, which now hung in a lighter shade of brown, complimenting her eyes. After pushing the hair from her face and tying it back, she bent down, picking up her bow, and fastening the quiver to her right shoulder. She placed her hand on the wooden bow, brushing her hand against it; _a gift from mother_. The thick, sturdy oak gleamed in the rich sunlight, and Kagome couldn't help but smile.

Closing her eyes, Kagome breathed in the blossom scent, and felt the cool breeze on her skin as she tried to locate the nearest shard. Her eyes snapped open; she was to head north-east. She began walking, and refused to look back towards the well. Restoring and destroying the jewel was her responsibility; she had shattered it, after all.

Entering an unfamiliar forest, Kagome drew and arrow and readied her bow; demons would surely come to her in search of her shard. However, she seemed to only encounter a number of smaller, pitiful demons that she was able to purify with the wave of her hand; apparently, her grandfathers books hadn't all been hocus pocus.

Hearing a rustle in the leaves behind her, Kagome spun around, arrow readied in her bow.

"The shard…I can sense it…Give it to me," whispered a shuddering voice.

A large snake demon lunged, it's venomous fangs beared at her. In an instant, Kagome shot her arrow, which pierced the demons forehead; a bright light began to spread from the arrow as the demon was slowly being purified. Placing her bow back on her shoulder, she walked over to the demon, and placed the arrow back in her quiver; this demon was too pathetic for her to waste an arrow on. Turning around, she began walking away.

"Yes… go that way!" it screeched, "Perhaps that hanyou will be able to kill you."

Kagome stopped in her tracks. Her mouth thinned to a line as she attempted to suppress all of her hate and anger, and she closed her eyes. The demon let out a final, long scream as it purified and disappeared into nothing. Kagome turned around, and stared at the charred body of the snake demon in disgust. Although it was dead, she pulled an arrow from her quiver and shot an arrow at it. And another. And a third. She turned around, leaving the arrows behind; she couldn't walk to the dead demon and retrieve them.

A few small tears slid down her cheeks as she looked at the carcass, the word _hanyou_ echoing in her head.

She knew exactly who the demon meant. She had wished her journey would have been longer than this before she would have to hear his name, or worse, encounter him.

Kagome drew in a deep breath, and wiped her tears away with her sleeve. The hanyou had hurt her in ways she cannot describe and the depth of which she cannot overstate, yes, but she had shed more than enough tears for him.

_Fuck the hanyou._

**No porn yet. It'll come.**

**Note: My old account is J3nna. I've relocated here. Think of this story as Necklace of Heart 2.0.**


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